NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (AP) — The NFL has suspended Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay for the first six games of the season and fined him $500,000 for violating its personal conduct policy, coming down hard after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour stemming from a March traffic stop.

Commissioner Roger Goodell says owners, management personnel and coaches must be held to a higher standard than players. The fine levied Tuesday is the maximum allowed under league rules.

Hours earlier, Irsay was in an Indiana courtroom, pleading guilty to a misdemeanour count of driving while intoxicated. The 55-year-old Irsay admitted to a judge that he was under the influence of the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone when he was arrested March 16 near his home in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel.

He must submit to drug testing for a year and cannot drink or possess alcohol during that time. His driver’s license also was suspended for one year.